Frugal Kitchen Tips

Here are some great frugal kitchen tips:

* Keep a container in your freezer for small amounts of leftover vegetables, meat, pasta, grains and beans. When the container becomes full, you have the makings of a wonderful soup.

* To clean your grill, wrap a piece of tin foil into a ball and just watch the grease and grime rub away.

* To lengthen the life of kitchen sponges, place them on the top shelf of your dishwasher. This sanitizes them too.

* Salt and vinegar will clean your copper pots and pans just as well as any commercial cleanser can. Use a soft rag, and you’ve got an eco-friendly alternative.

* After you’ve used the juice and rind of lemons or limes, throw the rest into the garbage disposal to freshen it from odors.

* To wash out a teakettle, fill it with equal parts of water and distilled white vinegar. Bring it to a boil, then remove it from the heat and let it sit overnight. Then wash.

* Never toss out stale bread or the ends that no one seems to ever want to eat. Make it into home made bread crumbs or croutons instead.

* For health and savings, drink more water. Train your kids that water is for thirst. Not everything we drink has to have flavor!

* If you have fruit that is over ripe, but not moldy, mash it up and bake it in muffins and breads.

* Cut your scrubbing pads in half or even fourths. You will get the same cleaning power out of them but they will last a lot longer.

* Learning to cut up a whole chicken can save you money, too. All you need is a good sharp knife and a little practice.